Is my caloric intake too low? Weight not moving the last 4 months.

[PsychoFox7]

So I started my fitness journey back in January and at that time I was completely sedentary (no exercise at all, office desk job, etc). While my eating habits were okay, they definitely did need improvement.

At the time the calculated TDEE for me was 1730. (38 years old, 5'9" and weighed 180 pounds with estimated body fat percentage = 23%, sitting all day). So I began measuring and monitoring my caloric intake very closely and ensured I didn't exceed 1500 calories per day. I also included light cardio (recumbent bike) and light weight training every day for the first month (to get into the habit of actually working out). In those first four weeks my weight dropped to 178 pounds. My goal was to lose body fat and increase my overall fitness level.

In the second month I ramped up the exercise quite a bit. I do fasted cardio in the morning (recumbent bike, target heart rate range 135-155bpm), moderate intensity for 30 minutes, 6 days a week. In the evening I do 30 to 40 minutes of weight training (moderate to heavy weight, 4 to 5 sets, 8-15 reps), again 6 days a week. Then every Mon-Wed-Fri night I do HIIT on the bike for 4 to 6 sets (30sec on/60 sec off). I've kept my caloric intake strictly 1500 and under (being meticulous, measuring, weighing, etc) while aiming for lean quality proteins and vegetables as my primary food source. I've been doing this for the past 4 months now (my day job is still a office desk job that involves a lot of sitting).

In those 4 months my weight has been swinging back and forth between 172 pounds to 178 pounds, literally on a daily basis. But I don't understand why I haven't lost body fat (I also dont look different in the mirror, there's no noticeable change). I'm at a caloric deficit. If my TDEE was 1730 back in January when I was absolutely sedentary then shouldn't this had more results thus far?

Today my weight is 174 pounds and measured body fat percentage of 22.5%.

I'm actually really confused. I see all those fitness people on youtube who are on cutting diets and their caloric intake is far higher than mine (even the women's intake is way higher) and they shed the body fat on a weekly basis, and I haven't budged in months.

Is 1500 calories a day too low for me? (I ask because I honestly can't imagine I need to lower to 1200 or 1300 calories a day, that seems almost crazy to me)

Is it possible that my caloric intake of 1500 has led to this type of stalling (daily weight swing back and forth)?

[DutchTeamUltra]

So I started my fitness journey back in January and at that time I was completely sedentary (no exercise at all, office desk job, etc). While my eating habits were okay, they definitely did need improvement.

At the time the calculated TDEE for me was 1730. (38 years old, 5'9" and weighed 180 pounds with estimated body fat percentage = 23%, sitting all day). So I began measuring and monitoring my caloric intake very closely and ensured I didn't exceed 1500 calories per day. I also included light cardio (recumbent bike) and light weight training every day for the first month (to get into the habit of actually working out). In those first four weeks my weight dropped to 178 pounds. My goal was to lose body fat and increase my overall fitness level.

In the second month I ramped up the exercise quite a bit. I do fasted cardio in the morning (recumbent bike, target heart rate range 135-155bpm), moderate intensity for 30 minutes, 6 days a week. In the evening I do 30 to 40 minutes of weight training (moderate to heavy weight, 4 to 5 sets, 8-15 reps), again 6 days a week. Then every Mon-Wed-Fri night I do HIIT on the bike for 4 to 6 sets (30sec on/60 sec off). I've kept my caloric intake strictly 1500 and under (being meticulous, measuring, weighing, etc) while aiming for lean quality proteins and vegetables as my primary food source. I've been doing this for the past 4 months now (my day job is still a office desk job that involves a lot of sitting).

In those 4 months my weight has been swinging back and forth between 172 pounds to 178 pounds, literally on a daily basis. But I don't understand why I haven't lost body fat (I also dont look different in the mirror, there's no noticeable change). I'm at a caloric deficit. If my TDEE was 1730 back in January when I was absolutely sedentary then shouldn't this had more results thus far?

Today my weight is 174 pounds and measured body fat percentage of 22.5%.

I'm actually really confused. I see all those fitness people on youtube who are on cutting diets and their caloric intake is far higher than mine (even the women's intake is way higher) and they shed the body fat on a weekly basis, and I haven't budged in months.

Is 1500 calories a day too low for me? (I ask because I honestly can't imagine I need to lower to 1200 or 1300 calories a day, that seems almost crazy to me)

Is it possible that my caloric intake of 1500 has led to this type of stalling (daily weight swing back and forth)?

I honestly think you aren't measuring your intake correctly.
@ 1500 you SHOULD be losing weight fast.
Weightloss stall = eating too much for 99,9% of the cases.

With that, I do think your "planned" deficit is too steep.
Bodyweight in lbs x 15 = rough maintenance. Maintenance - 20% = good diet starting point. (Maintenance calories x 0,8)
Weigh yourself every day, compare weekly averages to track weightloss.

WEIGH ALL YOUR FOOD AND TRACK IT CORRECTLY.

Protein @ 0,82 grams per pound, it's plenty.
Fats at 20% of caloric intake, minimum.
Make the rest up with P/C/F however you like.

[xsquid99]

So I started my fitness journey back in January and at that time I was completely sedentary (no exercise at all, office desk job, etc). While my eating habits were okay, they definitely did need improvement.

At the time the calculated TDEE for me was 1730. (38 years old, 5'9" and weighed 180 pounds with estimated body fat percentage = 23%, sitting all day). So I began measuring and monitoring my caloric intake very closely and ensured I didn't exceed 1500 calories per day. I also included light cardio (recumbent bike) and light weight training every day for the first month (to get into the habit of actually working out). In those first four weeks my weight dropped to 178 pounds. My goal was to lose body fat and increase my overall fitness level.

In the second month I ramped up the exercise quite a bit. I do fasted cardio in the morning (recumbent bike, target heart rate range 135-155bpm), moderate intensity for 30 minutes, 6 days a week. In the evening I do 30 to 40 minutes of weight training (moderate to heavy weight, 4 to 5 sets, 8-15 reps), again 6 days a week. Then every Mon-Wed-Fri night I do HIIT on the bike for 4 to 6 sets (30sec on/60 sec off). I've kept my caloric intake strictly 1500 and under (being meticulous, measuring, weighing, etc) while aiming for lean quality proteins and vegetables as my primary food source. I've been doing this for the past 4 months now (my day job is still a office desk job that involves a lot of sitting).

In those 4 months my weight has been swinging back and forth between 172 pounds to 178 pounds, literally on a daily basis. But I don't understand why I haven't lost body fat (I also dont look different in the mirror, there's no noticeable change). I'm at a caloric deficit. If my TDEE was 1730 back in January when I was absolutely sedentary then shouldn't this had more results thus far?

Today my weight is 174 pounds and measured body fat percentage of 22.5%.

I'm actually really confused. I see all those fitness people on youtube who are on cutting diets and their caloric intake is far higher than mine (even the women's intake is way higher) and they shed the body fat on a weekly basis, and I haven't budged in months.

Is 1500 calories a day too low for me? (I ask because I honestly can't imagine I need to lower to 1200 or 1300 calories a day, that seems almost crazy to me)

Is it possible that my caloric intake of 1500 has led to this type of stalling (daily weight swing back and forth)?

No, you're not...
No, it isn't... (well in theory it is but you're not eating 1500 calories, you're eating more than that).
No, it didn't... (a stall just means you're eating too much). Starvation mode is a myth... Ever seen photos of starving kids in Africa or concentration camp victims? If you're in a deficit you will keep losing weight until you wither away and die.

[Ilikebeef]

I started trying to cut at 1700 or so calories per day. Then I realized I was regularly exceeding my calories by about 100-200 when I carefully tracked everything. So, since I am unable to police myself properly I set my calories at 1500 and then do my best to hit that target. Cheating and miscalculations occur and so Im generally hitting something like 1500-1800 calories a day and with exercise I am definitely losing weight.

Track your intake more closely or just drop calories by 100 every 2 weeks until you start losing weight. Your metabolism might be slower than you think or you are unknowingly exceeding your caloric allotment

[PsychoFox7]

No, you're not...
No, it isn't... (well in theory it is but you're not eating 1500 calories, you're eating more than that).
No, it didn't... (a stall just means you're eating too much). Starvation mode is a myth... Ever seen photos of starving kids in Africa or concentration camp victims? If you're in a deficit you will keep losing weight until you wither away and die.

How can you say I dont.

Here is what I ate yesterday. (Which by the way doesnt vary too much from day to day).

Breakfast: (total = 397 calories)
- 3 boiled omega-3 eggs = 240 calories
- 2 slices of broiled pre-cooked bacon = 129 calories
- half english cucumber w/salt = 28 calories
- water

Lunch: (377 calories)
- Broiled skinless chicken breast w salt, pepper, Mrs Dash = 152 calories
- 1 whole orange bell pepper sauteed with 1tsbp of butter = 135 calories
- 2 cups of romaine and red leaf lettuce with 1tbsp of ceasar dressing = 90 calories
- Water

Dinner: (462 calories)
- Broiled skinless chicken breast w salt, pepper, Mrs Dash = 152 calories
- 1 whole baked sweet potato with 1tbsp of butter and salt = 220 calories
- 2 cups of romaine and red leaf lettuce with 1tbsp of ceasar dressing = 90 calories
- Water

Post workout protein shake: (258 calories)
- 1 cup of 3% milk = 148 calories
- 1 scoop of protein powder = 110 calories


TOTAL DAILY = 1494 calories




Show me how this is not under 1500 calories?

Tell me.

[LactoseTolerant]

Show me how this is not under 1500 calories?

Tell me.

Your scale already told you.

[CommitmentRulz]

How can you say I dont.

Here is what I ate yesterday. (Which by the way doesnt vary too much from day to day).

Breakfast: (total = 397 calories)
- 3 boiled omega-3 eggs = 240 calories
- 2 slices of broiled pre-cooked bacon = 129 calories
- half english cucumber w/salt = 28 calories
- water

Lunch: (377 calories)
- Broiled skinless chicken breast w salt, pepper, Mrs Dash = 152 calories
- 1 whole orange bell pepper sauteed with 1tsbp of butter = 135 calories
- 2 cups of romaine and red leaf lettuce with 1tbsp of ceasar dressing = 90 calories
- Water

Dinner: (462 calories)
- Broiled skinless chicken breast w salt, pepper, Mrs Dash = 152 calories
- 1 whole baked sweet potato with 1tbsp of butter and salt = 220 calories
- 2 cups of romaine and red leaf lettuce with 1tbsp of ceasar dressing = 90 calories
- Water

Post workout protein shake: (258 calories)
- 1 cup of 3% milk = 148 calories
- 1 scoop of protein powder = 110 calories


TOTAL DAILY = 1494 calories




Show me how this is not under 1500 calories?

Tell me.

A 3 ounce chicken breast? Did you WEIGH it? the butter, weighed or in a tbsp. Is the tbsp totally level. WEIGHING is much more accurate than measuring.

[DutchTeamUltra]

How can you say I dont.

Here is what I ate yesterday. (Which by the way doesnt vary too much from day to day).

Breakfast: (total = 397 calories)
- 3 boiled omega-3 eggs = 240 calories
- 2 slices of broiled pre-cooked bacon = 129 calories
- half english cucumber w/salt = 28 calories
- water

Lunch: (377 calories)
- Broiled skinless chicken breast w salt, pepper, Mrs Dash = 152 calories
- 1 whole orange bell pepper sauteed with 1tsbp of butter = 135 calories
- 2 cups of romaine and red leaf lettuce with 1tbsp of ceasar dressing = 90 calories
- Water

Dinner: (462 calories)
- Broiled skinless chicken breast w salt, pepper, Mrs Dash = 152 calories
- 1 whole baked sweet potato with 1tbsp of butter and salt = 220 calories
- 2 cups of romaine and red leaf lettuce with 1tbsp of ceasar dressing = 90 calories
- Water

Post workout protein shake: (258 calories)
- 1 cup of 3% milk = 148 calories
- 1 scoop of protein powder = 110 calories


TOTAL DAILY = 1494 calories




Show me how this is not under 1500 calories?

Tell me.

To defend xsquid99, which he can do himself, I know:
So what you saying is that you are a special snowflake, and that you are the one exception?
YOU and only YOU break the laws of nature and will not lose fat eating in a caloric deficit?

I used to be like you, you know.

By the way, all your fats (WHICH ARE F*CKING CALORIE DENSE) are measured by "tablespoon".
How accurate is your tablespoon? Because I know lots of people who ****(ed) up their diet like that.
How many GRAMS are your chicken, potato and eggs? How much does "one scoop" or "one cup" weigh?

You get where I'm going with this.

[jinda628]

How can you say I dont.

Here is what I ate yesterday. (Which by the way doesnt vary too much from day to day).

Breakfast: (total = 397 calories)
- 3 boiled omega-3 eggs = 240 calories
- 2 slices of broiled pre-cooked bacon = 129 calories
- half english cucumber w/salt = 28 calories
- water

Lunch: (377 calories)
- Broiled skinless chicken breast w salt, pepper, Mrs Dash = 152 calories
- 1 whole orange bell pepper sauteed with 1tsbp of butter = 135 calories
- 2 cups of romaine and red leaf lettuce with 1tbsp of ceasar dressing = 90 calories
- Water

Dinner: (462 calories)
- Broiled skinless chicken breast w salt, pepper, Mrs Dash = 152 calories
- 1 whole baked sweet potato with 1tbsp of butter and salt = 220 calories
- 2 cups of romaine and red leaf lettuce with 1tbsp of ceasar dressing = 90 calories
- Water

Post workout protein shake: (258 calories)
- 1 cup of 3% milk = 148 calories
- 1 scoop of protein powder = 110 calories


TOTAL DAILY = 1494 calories




Show me how this is not under 1500 calories?

Tell me.

Those bolded are probably where you have miscalculated your calories.

• Slices - not every slice of bacon weighs the same. Don't count the slices, weigh them in grams.
• Broiled Chicken with spices - how did you measure the chicken? Looks like you based it from the label since you ended up with equal calories. Again, not every piece weighs the same. Also make sure you add the calories from spices.
• 1 whole potato - how did you get the calories? Did you weigh it?
• TBSP, TSP, Cup, scoop - as much as posible, try not to use volumetric measurement. Weight is more accurate. There are so much room for errors using volume especially on tbsp and tsp.
  

I know it may seem a lot of work but since you are not losing weight on 1500 cals, then there must be something wrong with your measurement. Like what was said above, there is no way you're not gonna lose weight on that 1500 cals a day.

I am eating 1590 cals a day. I'm 167 lbs and still losing a pound a week and I'm 43.

[DutchTeamUltra]

A 3 ounce chicken breast? Did you WEIGH it? the butter, weighed or in a tbsp. Is the tbsp totally level. WEIGHING is much more accurate than measuring.

HAHAHA, I was typing something exactly alike. And the moment I posted it, I saw your message.
Cheers!

[xsquid99]

Yeah... I stand by my statement that you're not eating 1500 calories. Not to mention that your tablespoons are probably much more than a tablespoon, that's why grams is the only widely accepted unit of measurement for counting calories (for anything other than a liquid).

What size is that chicken breast? Mine that I usually get from the market are usually about 200 grams at least, with most of them around 250, which is a good 300+ calories.

Your average sweet potato with a tbsp. of butter (the butter is 100 calories by itself) is probably 250-300 calories.

I'll be honest, I'm a straight up jerk when it comes to threads like this. Why? Because I know you're lying (that doesn't mean I think you're being malicious about it). How do I know you're lying? Because I used to be you. I used to jump up and down and swear that I wasn't losing weight on 1800 calories, but when I actually started tracking every single little thing to the gram I was actually eating closer to 2800 calories. Once I did that and I completely stopped eating out and stopped drinking my calories, I found my weight started dropping like a rock.

[jinda628]

Because I used to be you.

^Lol this!
I think everyone who's been here long enough can be guilty of this. And it's not bad though. Because a lot of us really thought we are counting the calories right. Later on, you'll learn that even food with nutritional labels do not have the exact calorie per piece of whatever it is.

[Tommy W.]

Go to 1:2.05 in this podcast for your answer

http://www.legendarylifepodcast.com/fatloss/264/

[needgains1024]

So I started my fitness journey back in January and at that time I was completely sedentary (no exercise at all, office desk job, etc). While my eating habits were okay, they definitely did need improvement.

At the time the calculated TDEE for me was 1730. (38 years old, 5'9" and weighed 180 pounds with estimated body fat percentage = 23%, sitting all day). So I began measuring and monitoring my caloric intake very closely and ensured I didn't exceed 1500 calories per day. I also included light cardio (recumbent bike) and light weight training every day for the first month (to get into the habit of actually working out). In those first four weeks my weight dropped to 178 pounds. My goal was to lose body fat and increase my overall fitness level.

In the second month I ramped up the exercise quite a bit. I do fasted cardio in the morning (recumbent bike, target heart rate range 135-155bpm), moderate intensity for 30 minutes, 6 days a week. In the evening I do 30 to 40 minutes of weight training (moderate to heavy weight, 4 to 5 sets, 8-15 reps), again 6 days a week. Then every Mon-Wed-Fri night I do HIIT on the bike for 4 to 6 sets (30sec on/60 sec off). I've kept my caloric intake strictly 1500 and under (being meticulous, measuring, weighing, etc) while aiming for lean quality proteins and vegetables as my primary food source. I've been doing this for the past 4 months now (my day job is still a office desk job that involves a lot of sitting).

In those 4 months my weight has been swinging back and forth between 172 pounds to 178 pounds, literally on a daily basis. But I don't understand why I haven't lost body fat (I also dont look different in the mirror, there's no noticeable change). I'm at a caloric deficit. If my TDEE was 1730 back in January when I was absolutely sedentary then shouldn't this had more results thus far?

Today my weight is 174 pounds and measured body fat percentage of 22.5%.

I'm actually really confused. I see all those fitness people on youtube who are on cutting diets and their caloric intake is far higher than mine (even the women's intake is way higher) and they shed the body fat on a weekly basis, and I haven't budged in months.

Is 1500 calories a day too low for me? (I ask because I honestly can't imagine I need to lower to 1200 or 1300 calories a day, that seems almost crazy to me)

Is it possible that my caloric intake of 1500 has led to this type of stalling (daily weight swing back and forth)?

You're not calculating your calories to the gram. Another thing that bothers me is how you say you have lost 6 lbs in weight, but you reckon your body fat percentage has only decreased by 0.5%...Are you getting your protein, and also are you lifting weights?

[Luclin999]

Short answer, your calorie tracking is sloppy and you aren't in a deficit...period.

"Tablespoons" are not an accurate form of measurement for calorie tracking.. Grams are.

Example: This is not a "tablespoon" of peanut butter...



...measured by weight, it is more like three "tablespoons" of peanut butter.